Shoe heel



P. JONES Dec; 2%} f 929.

SHOE HEEL Filed Feb. 23, 1929 42' 9572126- @zr@w M zea%7vzga.

Patented Dec. 24, 1929 UNITED STATES OFFICE PAUL JONES, F'WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T COMMONWEALTH snon &

LEATHER COMPANY, OF WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION or MASSA- onusn'r'rs SHOE HEEL Application filed February 23, 1929. Serial No. 341,892.

This invention pertains to footwear, and more particularly to heels for boots and shoes and to a method of making such heels, the improved heel being primarily intended for use upon arch supporting or health shoes designed to provide a more hygienic support for the human foot than the usual shoe of commerce.

While the bottom, and particularly the heel of an ordinary shoe, is transversely and symmetrically conca've, the bottom of the human foot is not symmetrically convex, and the print of the unshod foot shows that the outer edge, from the center'of the heel bone for- 5 ward, is lower than the inner edge or arch line. In order to provide a correctly designed support for the foot, it has been proposed to employ a shoe last Whose bottom is unsymmetrical transversely,following more or less the actual contour of the foot bottom when the latter is supporting the weight of the person. Whilein theory this is a desirable procedure, and While the forward and instep portions of a shoe thus lasted more nearly approach to correct foot form, the heel portion of the shoe bottom, being firmly attached to a rigid heel, conforms to the latter, and thus, although the heel portion of the shoe bottom may initially be properly shaped in lasting to fit the foot, the attachment of a shoe heel of usual form, having a symmetrically concave upper surface, destroys the lasted shape of the heel seat, and thus the desired shape at this part of the shoe is lost.

In accordance with the present invention I provide a shoe heel (preferably built up of layers of leather or the like compacted and united under heavy pressure as is common in the art of shoe making) having its upper surface unsymmetrically concave at its forward part at least to accommodate a shoe bottom of similarly unsymmetrical form. One method of accomplishing the desired result is to scoop out or otherwise remove material from one or more of the usually uniformly thick component layers of the heel, since compression alone, even between properly shaped dies, will not produce the desired results when dealing with a substantially non-plastic material such as leather.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. l is a plan view of a right shoe heel embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 33 of Fig. 1';

Fig. 4c is a diagrammatic view illustrating the general appearance of the print left by an unshod right foot;

Fig. 5 is a vertical transvesre section through the heel part of a last designed for use in making a foot supporting shoe, showing parts of the shoe, but omitting the shoe heel; and

Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a shoe made upon a last which, as shown in Fig. 5 but provided with my improved shoe heel, and diagrammatically indicating the general shape of the heel bone, or calcaneum, of the human foot.

Referring first to Fig. 4 of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates diagrammatically the general appearance of the print left by a damp foot upon the floor. that the pressure of the foot is exerted at the heel portion 2 and along the outer edge 3, and at the ball portion, but that substantially no pressure is exerted along the inner or arch line indicated in broken lines at i. It is thus evident that the outer edge portion of the foot is slightly lower than the inner edge from the heel forwardly toward the ball. Referring to Fig. 6 the heel bone or calcaneum is indicated in broken lines at 6, and it will be noted that this bone is lower at the point 7 (adjacent to the outer side of the foot) than at the opposite side 8.

Recognizing this formation of the heel bone, it has been proposed to provide a last 9 'whose heel seat portion is shaped more or less in conformity with the shape of the heel bone, having a projection at 10 corresponding to the lower part 7 of the bone, thus giving the heel seat portion of the last an unsym- This print shows seat portion 14 of the outer sole is also being shown in assembled relation to the other parts. When lasted upon a last, such as the last 9, the inner sole will have a deep concavity in 7 contact with the projection 10 of the last, and

the outer sole will have a corresponding unsymmetrically disposed downwardly convex part 16. If a shoe having its bottom thus shaped is provided with a heel of usual type, the attaching of the heel will draw the heel seat portion of the shoe bottom snugly down into engagement with the upper surface of the heel, and the latter being symmetrical will impart to the seat portion of the shoe bottom a symmetrical shape, thus destroying the effects produced by the specially formed last 9.

In accordance with the present invention I provide a heel 17 whose upper part at least as here shown comprises a plurality of lifts 18 which may be of leather or other similar material, each upper lift originally being of substantially uniform thickness. I may also, if desired, provide a rand 19, and this rand is assembled with the lifts 18 in the usual manner, with interposed adhesive, and the assembled parts are subjected to heavy compression to compact and unite them. Preferably, before compression, the upper lift or lifts is scooped out or otherwise thinned to provide a cavity 20 disposed unsymmetrically with respect to the center line at the, heel. If the heel is to be used with a right shoe, this cavity is at the right side, and if the heel is to be used with a left shoe, the concavity is at the left side of the center line. This concavity merges smoothly into the upper surface of the heel and is so shaped as to make the upper surface of the heel substantially complemental to the heel seat surface of a shoe bottom lasted as indicated in Fig. 5. Vvhen a heel having its upper surface thus shaped as assembled with a shoe bottom having the characteristics resulting from lasting upon a last such as shown in Fig. 9, it tends to preserve the last-ed shape of the heel seat rather than to destroy it, and at the same time insures a close and firm fit between the heel seat and the heel proper. With this construction, the desired shape of the inner surface of the shoe bottom at the heel is readily secured and substantially maintained throughout the life of the shoe.

Not only is a heel, prepared as above described, useful with a shoe lasted to provide an unsymmetrical heel seat portion, but when applied to a shoe lasted upon an ordinary last, it tends to draw the heel seat portion down into unsymmetrical form, thus to some extent providing the desired support for the heel of the foot although an ordinary form of last is employed.

I contemplate that the unsymmetrical con cavity in the upper surface of the heel may be formed after the assembly and compression of the heel parts by the use of proper abrading or cutting instrumentalities, although I prefer to make the upper lift or lifts of un-' symmetrical thickness before assembly so as to provide the desired concavity before compression and to employ dies in compressing the heel parts of a form suitable for compressing the unsymmetrical heel elements.

I claim:

1. A shoe heel comprising a plurality of lifts, the upper lift being of unsymmetrical thickness, in a transverse direction, adjacent to its forward edge and adapted to impart to the upper surface of the heel a concavity closely corresponding to the unsymmetrical convexity of the calcaneum bone of the foot.

2. A shoe heel comprising a'plurality of leather-like lifts united and consolidated by heavy compression, the forward part of the upper surface of the heel being more deeply concave at one side of its longitudinal center line than at the other whereby it is adapted to provide a correct support for the heel portion of the human foot.

3. In combination with a shoe having a bottom whose upper surface atthe heel seat portion is unsymmetrically concave to conform to the shape of the calcaneum bone of the foot and whose lower surface has a corres ondin l uns mmetrical convexit a b y a ice 7 

